The Tenor and His Times

Jazz Week's Artist of the Year is also a Sub-3:00 Marathoner

"I have a very obsessive personality," he offers. "I’m always either competing against myself or other people." This recognition, ironically, explains why that 2:58 marathon remains the only race of Alexander’s life.

"Sure, I think about that," he says when asked about testing his obvious talent in the shorter races held year-round in nearby Central Park. "The thing is, if I got a taste of how good I could really be, I could see where it would take over, like a big snowball rolling down the hill. Right now, my running is in a good place—it keeps me healthy, it clears my mind, it enables me to be a better musician. I can see that I could pretty easily lose that, slip over the edge, if I started getting worked up about how my 10K time this week compared to last week."

Alexander also consciously avoids the seeming no-brainer of having regular training partners in such a populated setting. "Running alone is my little quiet time where I don’t have to think," he says. "If I have a gig that night, maybe I’ll think about musical problems, but for the most part, I’m out in left field. It’s the only time during the day I’m not freaking out like a crazy person, practicing, changing diapers, making phone calls.

"If I get jammed on time," he continues, "I’ll give up an hour of practicing to get my run in. That should show you how important it is to me." Coming from someone who has recorded a song called "Something’s Gotta Give," that’s music to any runner’s ears.